Your Heart's A Mess
by batstark
Summary: The Winchester brothers receive a call from one of their father's old friends in Texas, who asks them to assist in ridding his family of the demon that murdered his wife. But will this job turn out to be more than they bargained for? [Original characters involved. I do not claim ownership to Supernatural or it's characters, only my original characters and the stories I create.]
1. Chapter 1

"Rise and shine, Sammy!"  
Dean's deep voice boomed through his younger brother's ears, causing him to jolt slightly as his eyes popped open.  
"What's going on?"  
"Just got a call from one of dad's old contacts, Isaiah Hale. He's a hunter from Hillsboro that he used to work cases with. His wife was pretty much shredded by one hell of a demon a few months ago, now they swear it's back and want our help hunting the son of a bitch down."  
"They?" Sam asked, pushing his hair back.  
"Yeah. His daughter is a hunter too, and so is her boyfriend. They don't think this is one they can handle alone, though, and given the graphic stories he was telling about deaths in the area I'm pretty inclined to believe them."  
"Did you get online and research any of it yet to make sure this isn't just a trap?"  
"Come on, Sammy, that's your job."  
Dean grinned as he left his brother's room, earning a head shake and involuntary smile from him.

"Well, the stories are definitely real." Sam said, motioning his brother to come to the computer as he continued. "Josephine Hale, murdered 3 months ago during what cops have called a serial killing spree in Hillsboro, Texas, survived by her husband Isaiah and their daughter. Four others were killed during that time, and it went quiet after that, but there have been two more of the murders there this week. This thing just came back out of nowhere."  
"Question is, what'd it come back for?"  
Sam closed his laptop and stood up. "Let's hit the road and find out."

It was an excruciating 10 hour drive from their bunker to the north Texas town, including small breaks, but the brothers each drove half of the way and got to the Hale's home just as the sun was going down.  
Dean looked the house up and down, an odd feeling of familiarity washing over him. It was a one storey home, constructed with a mixture of white-painted wood and bricks, and a covered wrap-around porch. He didn't quite understand why it felt so familiar at the time, but as soon as the door opened it registered quickly.  
"Dean!"  
The young woman who answered pulled him in for a hug. She was fair skinned, with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, and stood about nose-high to him.  
"Alice?" He asked incredulously, returning the hug. Now he remembered what had been so familiar. His dad used to bring him and his brother here to be watched when he was out on hunts with Isaiah. "Alessandra Hale?"  
"The last time I saw you, Dean Winchester, we were six years old and you kept trying to kiss me."  
He smirked sheepishly, and she removed her arms from his neck. Her focus then turned to Sam, staring up and down with mild shock.  
"I know this can't be little Sammy!" She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around the not-so-little brother's neck. "The last time I saw you, you were barely knee high on us all! I would say you've grown up, but that's an understatement."  
Sam had no memory of the young woman at all, as he was only a toddler the last time their father had brought them to this place, but he returned the hug and smiles effortlessly.  
"Come on in, boys." She said, moving out of the doorway to allow them entrance. "Daddy, the Winchesters are here!"  
They followed Alessandra through the kitchen and into the dining room, where Isaiah was sitting in front of a delicious spread of food. "Hello, boys! Come on over here, you're just in time to sit down with us for dinner! We sat out a couple of extra plates in case you got in tonight."  
They saw another younger man, about their age, sitting beside Mr. Hale, who they figured it safe to assume was the boyfriend they'd been told of.  
"Don't mind if we do!" Dean said, sitting across the circular dining table from Alessandra.  
"Look at that, I've forgotten my manners!" He stretched his arm over to her boyfriend, who had ignored their presence up until then, smiling almost too politely. "I'm Dean Winchester, and this is my little brother, Sam."  
The man looked up from his plate and shook Dean's hand. "Skyler Bradford. Nice to meet y'all."  
Dean fought down the urge to laugh at the stereotypically thick southern accent dripping from the words, taking back his hand to fix himself a plate. He ate quickly and without joining the rest of the table's conversations, only having piped in to compliment the young woman on her cooking before he excused himself. It had been a long day, he wanted nothing more than to lie back and relax.

Relaxation was never that simple for him, though. There were always thoughts to keep him awake, and whenever the thoughts did give way to sleep they sometimes manifested into nightmares.  
It had been this way ever since his mother died. Those memories started the battle for sleep, and as time went on more reasons just added themselves to the impossibly long list of ammunition his mind played against him. The things they'd seen never went away. Mutilated human remains, creatures that most people were blind enough to believe were only the stuff of scary stories told around a fire. It was enough to break some men. Sometimes he wasn't sure that it wasn't going to be enough to break him, one day.

After a few hours he gave up. His body settled back up into a seated position in the dark sitting room, and in the darkness he could make out his younger brother asleep on the other, longer couch.  
Sam had taken a shower after finishing dinner, and assumed Dean asleep. Had he known he was just pretending to avoid talking about his emotions he wouldn't have gone to bed himself. That was exactly why Dean did his best to keep him in the dark, anyways. Always protecting his little brother from something.  
He was blindly shuffling down the hallway, on his way to grab a late night snack from the kitchen. They'd insisted that the brothers make themselves at home, and a slice of the apple pie that had been served with dinner sounded as good as home gets to him.  
As he sat at the table, prepared to dig in to the sweet treat, a familiar tune perked his curiosity. He abandoned his plate and headed towards the sound, which he discovered was coming from the daughter's room.  
Her door was half open, so Dean looked inside.

Alessandra was sat Indian style on her bed, her fingers dancing nimbly over the neck and strings of an acoustic guitar. She was playing Carry On My Wayward Son, oblivious to the fact that Dean was standing in the doorway watching.  
"Impressive." He said with a grin as the song came to a close.  
She jumped a bit, caught off guard by his presence.  
"Thanks. I'm sorry if I woke you or anything. When I can't sleep I play."  
"Nah, I wasn't asleep. I was raiding the kitchen for leftover pie, actually. When I can't sleep I eat."  
"Not a bad strategy!"  
"Neither is yours."  
They both laughed, and Dean took a step forward. "Mind if I come in?"  
"Of course not. It's not like I'm doing anything important, anyways. Just trying to distract myself."  
"Yeah, I understand. Look, I haven't really had a chance to say anything about it but, I'm sorry about your mom."  
"Yeah," Her smile faded out to a blank expression, "So am I. I just hope we can get this thing, and soon."  
"We'll get the bastard, don't worry about it."  
Dean sat across from her on the bed, and they talked for what seemed like forever, about all kinds of things. Hunts they'd been on over the years, the music they liked, and even their failings in the love department.

"Well at least you've got a good thing now, with this Skyler guy of yours." Dean said, passing a hand through his messy hair.  
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do."  
"_Ridiculous_ accent, though."  
They both laughed, Alessandra managing to chime a response through her chuckles. "Oh, it's horrible!"  
"Seriously. His voice is exactly what the rest of the world imagines when they think of Texas."  
"It is the thickest accent I've ever heard in my life! Sometimes when we're arguing I just want to tape his mouth shut so I don't have to hear it."  
Dean laughed lightly again. "At least you've got somebody that loves you, though. Someone you don't have to lie to about this life."  
"Yeah, it's nice." She exhaled audibly, her expression changing from a broad smile to a smirk as she continued. "Truth be told that's what keeps us together. We've been through too much of this together, you know? Too much we could never even talk about to normal people. That's all we have in common, really. If it weren't for hunting and loss, who knows if we'd have ever even dated in the first place."  
Dean swallowed a lump in his throat, eyes locked on Alessandra's. Her heart started racing, threatening to beat out of her chest if she continued staring into those bright green orbs of his. She just couldn't drop her gaze.  
They were both subconsciously leaning into one another, as if a mysterious gravity was pulling them together. The eye contact stayed strong, both hearts were now pounding, breath catching in their chests as each seemed to dare the other to make the next move.  
Suddenly Dean's lips crashed against hers likes waves, and she had no desire to fight the tide. He reached behind her with his right hand and cupped the nape of her neck, using this leverage to pull her deeper into the kiss. He lightly touched her lips with the tip of his tongue, and without hesitation she surrendered herself to the intense passion. Their tongues danced together fluidly, causing a whirlwind of heat to ripple throught them.  
Without breaking the kiss, Dean moved his body so that he was straddling Alessandra's hips with her lying underneath him. She had never felt such desire, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she wanted more. Her fingers blindly moved to tug at his forest green over shirt, pulling one sleeve off before quickly starting at the other. He broke their lips apart for only a moment, to quickly remove the navy T-shirt she had begun to pull on. It joined his button down in being tossed to the floor.  
Alessandra's hands moved all over his chest and stomach, eagerly greeting the rippling muscles she felt there as the kiss continued.

"What the fuck!"  
They broke apart instantly, both recognizing the thick accent coming from the direction of the door. He was already crossing the room by the time they looked up, angry eyes locked on Dean.  
"Skyler!" Alessandra yelled.  
He tackled him off of his girlfriend's bed, rolling onto the floor while throwing punches at his stomach.  
"Skyler, stop it!" The young woman yelled again, yanking at the neck of his shirt to try and pull him off of the eldest Winchester. It wasn't of any use. He just pulled back against her, still landing punches on a pinned Dean.  
"Let go!" Skyler shouted, pushing her backwards before scoring a hit to Dean's jaw.  
Filled with anger she wrapped an arm tightly around his neck, applying enough pressure to make him fight for breath. Once he stopped swinging at Dean to pull on her arm she let go, pushing him over to the side.  
He stared at her for just a moment while he caught his breath, and she knew if looks could kill she'd have dropped dead.  
"Skyler, I-"  
He shook his head to cut her off, eyes watering up as he stood and stormed out of the room.  
Dean rested his forehead in his hand, sighing heavily as Alessandra sprang from the bed to go after him.  
"Skyler, please!"  
The commotion had woken Sam, who was coming down the hall as she slipped through her doorway in pursuit. She brushed right past him without even a glance. He would have asked her what was wrong, if he hadn't glanced into her room first.  
His eyes were met by his older brother, shirtless with a bloody lip, sitting in the floor looking guilty.  
"Oh come on, Dean!"  
"Sammy, shut up."


	2. Chapter 2

"Skyler, come on! Just talk to me for a minute!"  
Her infuriated boyfriend opened the front door, aiming to go out for a walk to cool down before talking to her. He didn't get that far.  
Alessandra heard a snapping of bone, then saw his body fly backwards, crashing hard against a wall. He dropped to the ground with a sickening thud. Standing in the doorway was a tall, pale man who looked to be in his forties. He wore a suit, and his eyes were totally black.  
The young woman bolted towards the fireplace, aiming to reach the small stash of emergency weapons and holy water her family kept hidden inside. The demon caught sight of her movements in his peripheral vision.  
She gasped as the demon's towering vessel teleported suddenly into her path. The scream for help she'd contemplated had no time to leave her body before his hand was at her throat, lifting her up into the air without hesitation.  
"Well well well, what have we here? You look just like your mother, you know. I wonder if you'll beg for your life as she did."  
While her nails clawed at his hand, she spat in his face furiously.  
The demon's face twisted into a malicious grin, and he slammed her hard onto the wooden floor. "This will be fun, princess."

"Did you hear that?" Sam quizzed.  
Dean was across the room, putting his shirt back on, when they heard the first crash. "Billy the Kid probably slammed the door or something."  
"That didn't sound like a door, Dean."  
They listened closely, but heard nothing else for a moment.  
"I'm telling you, he's pissed off and probably just-" Suddenly there was a loud thud, and a muffled cry of pain. Dean's eyes widened substantially. "That's Alice!"  
The brothers ran out of the room, charging down the hall towards the front of the house.  
They saw the demon crouching over her, and Skyler's lifeless body discarded against the wall. Dean looked to Sam and nodded back down the hall, quickly signaling him to go back for their gear bag before providing a distraction.  
"Hey! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, you ugly son of a bitch?"  
The demon looked up from Alessandra, releasing her neck from his grasp as he returned to a standing position.  
Before he'd gotten a chance to blink the creature was just inches in front of him. "Like you, Dean Winchester?"  
Quickly he pulled a vial of Holy Water from his front pocket, splashing the demon in the face.  
"Oh good, you've heard of me!"  
Alessandra ran over to Skyler while Dean had the demon distracted. She cupped his face in her hand momentarily, but she knew it was too late. Her heart dropped into her stomach, and she kissed his forehead.  
"I'm so sorry."

Sam ran back through just in time to see his older brother sliding across the floor, his course coming to a stop when he collided with the coffee table. He took aim and fired off a round from the Colt, but the demon's teleportation abilities worked quicker than the bullet. He took him by the throat and tossed him into a pile with his brother, who groaned loudly at Sam's weight falling onto his already bruised torso.  
The demon screeched in agony as Alessandra's full body weight forced a knife laced with Holy Water into his abdomen. She had run up on him while he was occupied with Sam, effectively catching him off guard.  
"You little BITCH!"  
She found herself suspended at the top of the wall, an invisible force placing excruciating pressure on her neck and chest. She couldn't breathe.  
A shot rang out, distracting the demon from his telekinetic torture as a bullet whizzed past his head. Alessandra's body fell to the ground as his attention shifted to the hallway, where Isaiah was standing with the Colt.  
"You seem to have lost your edge, old man." He made a swiping gesture which sent the Colt flying out of his hand, then appeared behind him suddenly. He pulled the knife from his body, slamming it into the eldest hunter's stomach. He let out a scream of pain.  
"DADDY!"  
"Oh, it's not so clever when it happens to _daddy_, is it love? What a shame."  
With a dark laugh he twisted the knife, bringing her father to his knees, before slicing it up a good five inches. Alessandra ran at him, but he disappeared from her path.  
Sam retrieved the Colt, which had slid under the couch, and they heard the front door slam shut. Dean made his way over to try and open it, but it was no use. It was being held shut by telekinesis.  
The demon was standing in the kitchen, smirking at him. "I don't know about you, but all of this fighting has me starving. What do you think, barbecue?"  
Dean had no time to react before the demon vanished, leaving a large fire in his wake. It had easily engulfed half of the room within seconds.  
"Son of a bitch! Sam, Alice!"

Alessandra was crouched down beside her father, holding his head in her lap while attempting to apply pressure to the large wound. Tears were pouring down her face.  
"You're going to be okay, dad. We're going to get you out of here, okay? I promise!"  
He forced a smile, speaking through labored breaths. "You are so beautiful. Just like, your mother. She was so, so proud of you. So am I. Don't you ever, forget it."  
"I love you so much!"  
"I love you too, baby girl."  
They heard what sounded like an explosion coming from the kitchen, followed by the familiar crackling and loud snaps of fire.  
"Son of a bitch! Sam, Alice!"  
"You need to go, get out of here." Isaiah choked out.  
She shook her head fiercely, choking back a sob. "I'm not going anywhere. Not without you!"  
"I'm not getting, out alive. I'll be damned if you, die with me!"

Sam ran to help his brother try and force open the door, but it was no use. The fire was spreading, and no sooner had they gotten away from the door than it was swallowed up by the flames.  
"We have to get out of here, damn it!"  
"Boys." The brothers looked to Isaiah, who weakly gestured them to come closer before continuing. "There's a back door, down the hall. To the right. Get her, out of here. Keep her safe."  
"We will, Mr. Hale. I promise." Dean said, doing his best to give a reassuring smile.  
"You're coming with us, daddy!"  
He could hardly focus his eyes to look at her. "No."  
She felt his body going limp, and his eyes took on a vacant stare. Dean and Sam looked at one another, both swallowing hard.  
"Dad? Daddy? No! Dad, please!"  
The fire was already destroying the living room and dining area. If they didn't move fast, they would all burn.  
Dean snatched a book off of a low shelf and handed it off to Sam. "Take this and go check that back door. If it's closed down, find a way to get it open. I'll bring her."  
Sam nodded and put the book in their bag before disappearing down the hallway.  
"Come on, Alice, it's time to go!"  
She knocked his hand off of her shoulder, cradling her father's head as a sob rocked through her.  
"We have to get out of here!"  
"I'm not leaving him, Dean!"  
"I've seen too many good people die, and damn it you're not adding yourself to the list!"  
He forcefully locked his arms around her torso as he moved to a standing position, pinning her arms to her sides. She violently thrashed against him in protest, throwing her head back into his chest repeatedly while delivering hard kicks to his legs. It was all he could do to keep his legs from giving out under the barrage.  
"LET ME GO!" She yelled over and over again, but he only tightened his hold.  
By the time they made it to the back of the house the fire was already making its way down the hallway. Heat and smoke were filling the air all around them, and Dean could barely see the open door.

They had barely made it out before that last area had caught fire, and now house was ablaze in front of them. Sam had run after the demon, hoping to catch and kill him, and Dean was left to hold back a hysterical Alessandra.  
She was screaming. It was an agonizing, guttural scream, piercing his ears as he pinned her back against his chest, holding her off from running right back into the burning remains of her home.  
"LET GO OF ME, DEAN!"  
She was still kicking and throwing her head into his body with all of her might. Anything she could try to break his hold.  
Tears were involuntarily built up in his eyes. If he could, he'd have removed her from sight of the flames what felt like lifetimes ago, but it was taking all of his remaining strength just to keep her in one spot.  
"No! Alessandra, stop it! STOP!"  
After a few more minutes of fighting against him, he felt her body go limp. Defeated. Dead weight in his arms, sobbing.  
He dropped to his knees, arms still wound tight around her, and she cried against his chest. They stayed that way for a few minutes, him switching one arm to rub her back for a while.  
When Sam returned, the clear look of frustration on his face let Dean know he'd been unable to kill the demon who'd caused this mess before he said a word.  
"He got away, Alice. I'm sorry."  
She couldn't get a word out past her tears.  
"Alice, I need you to try and calm down for us, okay?"  
"I can't!"Alessandra shouted as she dragged her hands through her hair, whole body shaking with grief. "This was my family, Dean! It may have been little and broken, but it was all I had! Now it's gone—everything's gone!"  
He placed a hand on the back of her neck and moved so that his face was only inches from hers.  
Tears were streaming quickly down her face. She could barely breathe from the sobs rocking through her small frame. The sight finally forced welled up tears to slide down his own face.  
"I know what you're going through, and I know it hurts so damn bad that you can't see straight. But I made a promise to your dad, and if I'm going to keep it we need to get out of here. Cops and firefighters will be swarming the place soon, and we all need to get out of here before they do. Please."  
She nodded weakly, and the brothers helped her to her feet. She never stopped staring at her burning home as they made their way to the Impala. It was hard to believe that, in such a short time frame, she'd lost the remainder of her family and the only home she'd ever known. She crawled into the car's back seat, lying down with her face buried in her arms.  
There was an ominous and complete silence hanging in the vehicle, which was absent of music or conversation. Each of the three hunters were playing the events of the night back in their minds, working over anything they could have possibly done to change the outcome somehow.


	3. Chapter 3

About an hour into the drive Alessandra's tears dried up. She wasn't sure there was enough strength left in her to create any more, she'd shed so many over her father, and Skyler.  
_Skyler._  
As soon as his name entered her mind in that moment, a flood of guilt hit her hard in the chest. After seven years of dedication to her family, and a four year relationship, he'd died thinking it all meant nothing to her. She'd made one stupid mistake in four years, one selfish choice. Now she'd have to go a lifetime unable to make amends for it.  
She couldn't stop reliving how she'd talked about their relationship, just before her entire world turned upside down.  
_'I said I've wanted to tape his mouth shut because of his voice. That we were nothing together without being hunters. Why did I say that? I shouldn't have said that! He loved me, and I loved him! That matters more than common interests, doesn't it? What have I done?'_  
She fell asleep that way after a while, thinking about Skyler, and about her father dying in her arms.

Dean looked around his seat to check on the young woman, the slightest smile pulling on the corners of his mouth when he saw she'd finally stopped crying and was asleep.  
"Do you think she'll be alright?"  
Dean looked to his brother, giving a moment of thought before letting out a sigh. "I don't know, Sammy. She lost everything tonight."  
"What should we do?"  
The older Winchester shrugged, eyes back on the road now. "Keep an eye on her for a few days, I guess. We'll see what happens and take it from there."  
Sam just nodded his head in response, and the drive continued silently until they got low on gas, about half way back to the bunker. They switched roles at the little side-of-the-road station where they stopped to fill up the tank, Sam taking over driving for the rest of their trip. Only minutes in to taking the wheel he broke the silence.

"If Isaiah wouldn't have gotten his hands on the Colt he might still be alive, and he wouldn't have gotten a hold of it if I wouldn't have screwed up."  
Dean jerked his attention to his little brother. "Seriously? Come on, man. Out of the people in this car right now you are the very last one who has any reason to feel at fault for tonight."  
"I didn't even catch this thing, Dean!"  
"Damn it Sammy, we'll get the son of a bitch later! When he hasn't crept up on us like a coward in the middle of the night. There's nothing you can do about how this turned out, and the last thing you need to do is go blaming yourself for it."  
Sam looked over to his brother momentarily as he spoke. "So what, you're not feeling any guilt at all right now?"  
"Of course I am! A guy got his freakin' neck snapped by a demon right after I made out with his girlfriend."  
"That's it? That's all that's bothering you about this?"  
"Not at all, it just sort of tops the list." Dean said, forcing his usual sarcastic smile.  
Sam's eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head. "How can you tell me not to feel guilty because nothing could have been done, when you feel guilty about it too?"  
"Because you're my little brother. It's my job."  
"I'm not a little kid anymore, Dean. Could you stop treating me like one?"  
"Ditch the sad puppy eyes and we'll talk."  
The brothers both laughed lightly, trailing off as Dean turned the radio on with the volume down low.

It felt like ages had passed before they got back to their bunker. The sun was already shining up in the sky. Sam nudged his brother in the passenger's seat, causing him to jump slightly as he woke. "Rise and shine, guys."  
Alessandra heard his voice and slid her eyes open. The light shining through the windows of the car caused her to reach a hand up and cover them almost immediately.  
She wasn't sure exactly where they were, or how long they'd been driving while she slept. It didn't matter, anyways. She had nowhere else to be.  
"Welcome to Kansas, Dorothy."  
She smirked at Sam's comment.  
Once her eyes adjusted she got out of the car, gaze falling on a door peeking out of the side of a hill, at the top of which sat what appeared to be a long-since abandoned building.  
The black iron door was partially underground, in the middle of a semicircular wall of bricks, which was built within a large rectangular slab of concrete. There were steel rails leading down a small set of steps to the entrance.  
"What is this, an industrial grade hobbit hole?"  
Dean laughed before answering. "No. This is our Batcave."  
She squinted a bit while looking at the door, trying to picture whatever was inside as anything more than a literal hole in the ground. When Dean opened the door and she stepped through, she couldn't believe her eyes.  
They were standing on a balcony overlooking a huge, circular room, which appeared to lead off to even more rooms. An underground fortress of sorts.  
"Holy hell."  
Dean's lips broke into a proud grin. "Told ya. Batcave."  
The young woman stood for a moment, eyes dancing over the lavish decor of the lower level. It was downright beautiful, like something out of an old movie.  
"Come on down, Alice. I'll take you on the nickel tour."

While Dean was showing their guest around the bunker, Sam got on his laptop. He was searching for any new stories about the demon they'd encountered. There was nothing related, though. A news story about the house fire, but no other killings had happened so far since they left. He bookmarked a few of the local and state news sites so that he could keep checking in about it.

"-oh! Just through there we actually have a gun range, too."  
Alessandra could hear pride resonating in Dean's voice with each room and feature he pointed out to her on their journey through the bunker. He'd also made it a point to tell her all about the Men of Letters, and how this bunker was their base of operations. He even bragged about their grandfather, who had been a member of the organization.  
She had to admit, it was all pretty spectacular.  
"And there are bedrooms this way. You know, I hadn't had a room to myself since I was four years old before we got this place."  
He still sounded as proud as ever, to a point that she wasn't even sure if he realized how sad that was.  
"Seems like you love it here."  
"Yeah," Dean smiled, "I guess I do."  
He opened up one of the doors and gestured inside. "This is one of the spare rooms. Sam and I were talking about it, and we thought you could stay here until you figure out what you're gonna do-if you want to, anyway."

She didn't say anything back to him at first, just walked into the room slowly.  
Her fingertips danced across the top of an old desk, then the typewriter sitting on it. She glanced around, taking in the other details of the small but cozy room.  
"I hadn't really thought about that until now. Not having a home and family to go back to, or a thing to my name."  
"I know it's rough," he started, placing a hand on her shoulder, "but you're welcome with us for as long as you need. We'd be happy to have you."  
After a brief silence she spoke again. "Thank you, Dean. I really appreciate it."  
When she looked up their eyes met, and a pang of guilt stabbed in her chest just from looking at him. She turned her head and shrugged away from his hand.  
The change confused him, but he didn't bother pushing an investigation. Instead his hand just dropped back down to his side.  
"No problem, Alice. I'll let you go ahead and check out the room. If you need anything just let us know, alright?"  
There wasn't any answer, which he saw as his cue to make an exit.

Sam noticed that Alessandra wasn't following his older brother when he re-entered the sitting room, beer bottle in hand.  
"Did you lose her when you were giving a speech about us having a dungeon?" He quizzed jokingly.  
"No, she's in one of the spare rooms."  
"So I guess that means she's staying here for a while?"  
"Mhmm. Acting a little weird, but she's staying."  
"Yeah, well, she just lost every thing and person she had. I think I'd give her some time to adjust before I took it personally."  
Dean took a swig from the amber bottle before speaking. "Yeah, you're right."

He tried to believe it was just what Sam had pointed out, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that it was partly to do with him, and what had happened between them.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours passed, but Alessandra hadn't left the room once. She had switched between sitting at the desk and flopping onto the bed every now and then, but that was it.  
"Knock knock."  
Her attention shifted to the closed door. "Hey, Sam."  
"Can I come in for a minute?"  
"Yeah," She sat up on the mattress, "go ahead."  
As soon as he entered the room it was obvious she'd been crying. Her cheeks were still wet.  
"Hey. Sorry if this is a bad time, I just figured you could use something to sleep in."  
The blonde smiled as he sat a grey shirt and dark blue pajama pants, both folded neatly, on the bed beside her. "I grabbed a couple of Dean's things, since he's closer to your height."  
"That's fine, thank you." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, looking down at her blood-stained attire. "I forgot about my clothes. I really haven't been thinking anything through today."  
"Nobody expects you to."  
She frowned and swept the fresh tears that threatened to fall out of her eyes. "Do you think I could catch a ride to the laundromat tomorrow? I still have my wallet, so I have some money left, I-"  
"Don't worry about it! We've been needing to wash some clothes, anyways."  
"Don't do that!"  
Sam was confused by her annoyed tone. "Do what?"  
"The whole pity thing. I don't need you guys to do everything for me, alright? I can pay to wash my own clothes, I just need a ride."  
"I wasn't trying to do that," he frowned, "we really do need to wash. I just figured we could toss yours in, since it's just one outfit."  
Tears began to streamline down her face without warning. "I'm sorry, I know you're just trying to be nice. I just can't-"  
"Hey, hey! Come on." He pulled her in for a hug. "It's fine, don't worry about it."  
The crying stopped after a few minutes, and Sam released her.  
"Thanks, Sam."  
"No problem. Did Dean show you where the bathroom is?"  
Alessandra nodded, wiping at her face with her palm.  
"Well, get your shower and change clothes if you want. Dean's working on dinner, it should be ready in about half an hour. Alright?"  
"Yeah."  
"Okay, good. We'll see you at dinner, then."  
She forced herself to return his smile before he left the room, but the second he was out of sight her face fell again.

It took a great deal of effort, but the young woman dragged herself down the hallway so that she could shower. Moping around with her father's dried blood caked on herself was no way to start moving forward, she knew that much.  
The hot water enveloped her body, massaging the aching muscles it found as it poured down.  
Every time she closed her eyes she saw them. Her mother, her father, and Skyler. Their bodies, lifeless. Broken. How long would it be like this?  
She didn't dare to guess.  
After she'd finally gotten around to washing herself she exited the shower, wrapping her hair in one towel while using another to dry her body before she slipped into the borrowed clothing.  
The shirt hung down past her butt, and the pajama pants extended about four inches beyond the soles of her feet. It felt uncomfortable, but what was there to be done?

"There she is! Nice wardrobe, too."  
Dean's words were friendly, playful even. All she could do was paste on another empty smile. He could see through it, but again just let her be.  
Almost as soon as she'd taken a place at the table he placed a glass of Coca Cola and a plate, fully prepared, in front of her. "Here ya go, the house special! One burger well-done, with lettuce, cheese, ketchup, and pickles, fries on the side. No charge." He announced with a wink.  
Something about the prideful sparkle in those green eyes of his as he spoke was too much this time, earning an authentic chuckle from their guest. He grinned as he sat down with his own plate and a bottle of beer.  
"Where's mine?"  
Dean eyed his brother as if he'd grown a second head. "What do I look like, Sammy? The food's right over there!"  
Sam stared at him for a moment, but he'd received the message loud and clear. The taller man stood and helped himself, piling extra fries onto his plate as some sort of edible reparations.  
The dinner was eaten mostly in silence, aside from some back-and-forth every now and then between the brothers. Alessandra listened, but didn't bother to chime in.

"That was really good, Dean. Thank you." Alessandra smiled.  
"No problem, I'm glad you enjoyed it."  
Before she could grab it he'd taken her plate, and was headed to the sink with it and his own in tow.  
"You don't need to do that."  
He perked a brow at her irritated voice, setting the plates down and running some water over them. "Relax, I was headed this way anyways."  
She sighed, and the older Winchester heard her mutter a quick 'whatever' before walking out of the room.  
"Seriously, see what I meant earlier?" He asked, looking at his brother incredulously.  
"Dean, you're reading too far in to this."  
"I don't think so, man."  
Sam crossed the room with his plate, placing it on top of the others with a light clanking sound. "Dude, this just happened to her. I mean it _just_ happened. So she's a little on edge-anyone would be. Plus, the sympathy treatment isn't her thing."  
He saw his older brother's confused expression.  
"So what, she talked to you about it?"  
"I mean, sort of, I guess."  
"When? What did she say?"  
Sam started to roll his eyes, but the look of genuine interest on Dean's face encouraged him to hold it back. Sam nodded towards the sitting area. "Come on, let's go in there and talk."

"Really?"  
"Yeah, she was pretty upset when she thought I was pitying her."  
Dean ran a hand through his hair. "I was just trying to be nice with the plate thing, I wasn't trying to baby her."  
"Well, Dean, it kind of read like you were."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, you do that sometimes. What you thought was nice she probably saw as pity."  
The older man dropped his head back, closing his eyes as they met the ceiling. "Why are women so freakin' complicated, Sammy?"  
Sam laughed, patting Dean on the shoulder as he rose from his spot on the couch. "Maybe because you've never paid close enough attention. By the way, we're doing laundry tomorrow."  
Dean made a sour face. "Why?"  
"Most of our clothes are dirty, for one. Two, in case you hadn't noticed, her _only_ clothes are dirty."  
"Oh, yeah."  
Sam was on his way to his room for the night when Dean called back out to him.  
"Hey, Sammy!" He waited for his brother to turn around to continue. "What did you do with that book I grabbed at her house?"  
"It's in the duffel bag, by the stairs."  
Dean nodded. "Thanks. G'night Sammy."  
Sam threw a wave over his shoulder. "G'night, Dean."

A knock on the door drew Alessandra from her train of thought.  
"Is it Sam or Dean?"  
"Does that answer effect whether or not I can come in? If it does then I'm whoever gets to come in."  
The blonde rolled her eyes. "The door's not locked. Go ahead."  
He entered the room with one hand behind his back. "Look, Alice. Sam brought it to my attention that I _might've_ seemed like I was babying you earlier."  
"_Seemed_?" She asked, an eyebrow raised. "You _were_, and it was irritating."  
He smirked. "Yeah, I sort of picked up on that vibe. I just wanted to say that I was just trying to be nice, I didn't mean to hit a nerve."  
There was a long pause, both of them looking around the room, each waiting for the other to continue the conversation.  
"My dad and Skyler did that. All the time." Dean whipped his attention back to her as she spoke. "No matter what I did, or how hard I trained, they treated me differently when we were working cases. Dad always did it to mom, too. They didn't act like we were as capable as them. After mom died, that changed. They didn't baby me as much anymore. I was on the front line with them, looking for this thing."  
A wave of comprehension washed over Dean's mind. "So you feel like you've lost them and now we're knocking you back a peg."  
She didn't respond, but the look on her face told him that his hunch was accurate. He sat on the edge of the bed, one hand still tucked behind him.  
"Alice, that's not what we're trying to do. It's just, you just lost everything. You need to take a little time to process that, and let us help you out. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to force your mind to work at 100% right out of the gate."  
Alessandra hadn't looked him in the eyes since he'd come in the room. She didn't have to tell Dean that she was uncomfortable, he knew it.  
"Okay, well I'm gonna get out of your hair now." He said, jaw clenched. "See you in the morning."

He'd left the room before she had a chance to say anything, setting a book down on the desk as he made his exit.  
She recognized what it was as soon as she picked it up, and her heart jumped into her throat. It was a family photo album. Pictures from when she was a child and even some more recent were tucked inside of the laminated photo pockets, the stories behind each photograph penned out beneath them in her mom's handwriting.  
She traced across some of the letters and studied the images closely, tears in her eyes.  
When she got to the last page there was a piece of paper tucked into the back, with a quick note scribbled out across it.  
"You didn't lose everything, Alice. You'll always have their memories."

She turned out the lights and curled up in bed with the album, tears flowing down her face as she fell asleep.


End file.
